Skip to content
rConfig Documentation

Ciena TL1 GNE/RNE Collection

Ciena TL1 GNE/RNE Collection

Section titled “Ciena TL1 GNE/RNE Collection”

rConfig collects Ciena 6500 optical nodes over TL1 (transported on SSH). A gateway node (GNE) is reached directly; the remote nodes behind it (RNEs) have no management address of their own and are reached in-band through the GNE’s session. rConfig discovers those RNEs automatically and manages each one as its own device with its own configuration history.

GNE vs RNE

Section titled “GNE vs RNE”

A Ciena optical network is a hub-and-spoke arrangement, and the two roles map cleanly onto how rConfig reaches each node.

GNE (Gateway Network Element) is the node you point rConfig at. It has a real host, port, and credentials. You add it like any other device and collect it directly.

RNE (Remote Network Element) sits behind a GNE and has no independent management access. You cannot SSH to it. rConfig reaches it by logging into its GNE and addressing the RNE by its TL1 TID over that session. The GNE routes the command across its control network and returns the RNE’s reply.

The important consequence: an RNE is still a full rConfig device (its own record, its own config snapshots and history, its own collection schedule), but its connection is always routed through its GNE.

How collection works

Section titled “How collection works”

You only ever add and configure the GNE. Everything about the RNEs is automatic.

  1. Discover. When the GNE is collected, rConfig runs RTRV-NBR on that session to list the RNEs behind it.
  2. Reconcile. Newly seen RNEs become rConfig devices linked to the GNE. RNEs that disappear are flagged, never deleted, so their history is preserved. See discovery and reconciliation.
  3. Collect. Each RNE is collected on its own, routed through its GNE and addressed by TID. The GNE itself is collected directly. See collecting RNEs.

You never hand-build RNE devices. Point rConfig at the GNE, collect it, and the RNEs appear behind it.

TL1 Gateway panel on a GNE device view listing the RNEs discovered behind it with their discovery state The TL1 Gateway panel on a GNE, listing the RNEs discovered behind it

When to use this

Section titled “When to use this”

Best for: Ciena 6500 estates where optical RNEs are only reachable in-band through a gateway node, and you want each RNE tracked as its own device with full config history.

Not needed for: standalone Ciena nodes with direct management access. Those collect over TL1 as ordinary devices with no gateway involved, and discovery simply finds no neighbours.

Next step: Set up a GNE for TL1 collection.